Lafayette, LA

Across all occupations in the Lafayette, LA metropolitan area, the median wage is $41,780 a year ($20.09 an hour) and the mean $52,120, May 2025. That median is −18% against the US median of $50,980 and −8% against Louisiana's $45,520. BLS counts 179,570 jobs in the area. The highest-paying occupation is physicians, all other; the largest is home health and personal care aides.

All occupations: Lafayette, LA vs Louisiana and the United States

All occupations: wage percentiles, mean and employment in the Lafayette, LA area, Louisiana and nationally, May 2025
Area	Basis	Percentile wage					Mean	Employment
Area	Basis	10th	25th	Median	75th	90th	Mean	Employment
Lafayette, LA	Hourly	$10.59	$14.00	$20.09	$29.47	$43.91	$25.06	179,570
Lafayette, LA	Annual	$22,020	$29,130	$41,780	$61,300	$91,330	$52,120	179,570
Louisiana	Hourly	$10.92	$14.59	$21.89	$31.90	$48.13	$27.21	1,934,900
Louisiana	Annual	$22,710	$30,350	$45,520	$66,340	$100,110	$56,600	1,934,900
United States	Hourly	$15.00	$18.07	$24.51	$38.71	$61.81	$33.54	155,495,730
United States	Annual	$31,200	$37,590	$50,980	$80,520	$128,560	$69,770	155,495,730

Annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles across all occupations in the metro; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.

350 detailed occupations publish a median in this area. State profile: Louisiana. Compare any occupation across every area in the wage explorer.

20 highest-paying occupations in Lafayette, LA

Rank	Occupation	Median annual	Median hourly	Employment
1	Physicians, All Other	$299,990	$144.23	130
2	Nurse Anesthetists	$216,300	$103.99	100
3	General Internal Medicine Physicians	$201,140	$96.70	**
4	Dentists, General	$171,860	$82.63	190
5	Architectural and Engineering Managers	$152,090	$73.12	130
6	Chief Executives	$134,660	$64.74	140
7	Physician Assistants	$134,550	$64.69	100
8	Computer and Information Systems Managers in Louisiana	$132,790	$63.84	180
9	Pharmacists	$132,130	$63.53	540
10	Business Teachers, Postsecondary	$127,840	*	110
11	Veterinarians	$124,470	$59.84	90
12	Marketing Managers	$122,780	$59.03	60
13	Sales Engineers	$121,680	$58.50	60
14	Nurse Practitioners	$120,930	$58.14	480
15	Financial Managers in Louisiana	$120,450	$57.91	570
16	Industrial Production Managers	$118,030	$56.75	170
17	Industrial Engineers	$117,120	$56.31	70
18	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels	$116,200	$55.87	270
19	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	$115,850	*	40
20	Lawyers in Louisiana	$111,160	$53.44	650

Ranked by median; an occupation whose median BLS withholds or top-codes in this area cannot appear here, however well it pays.

20 largest occupations in Lafayette, LA

Rank	Occupation	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient	Median annual
1	Home Health and Personal Care Aides in Louisiana	5,200	28.98	1.05	$21,400
2	Retail Salespersons in Louisiana	5,010	27.88	1.11	$28,600
3	Registered Nurses in Louisiana	4,930	27.43	1.26	$81,960
4	General and Operations Managers in Louisiana	4,590	25.54	1.13	$99,510
5	Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Louisiana	4,500	25.05	1.32	$32,600
6	Fast Food and Counter Workers in Louisiana	4,480	24.97	1.01	$22,320
6	Cashiers in Louisiana	4,480	24.98	1.26	$24,920
8	Office Clerks, General in Louisiana	4,240	23.62	1.49	$34,510
9	Waiters and Waitresses in Louisiana	3,410	18.98	1.30	$15,080
10	Food Preparation Workers in Louisiana	3,260	18.16	3.16	$22,920
11	Stockers and Order Fillers in Louisiana	3,170	17.68	0.97	$31,310
12	Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers in Louisiana	2,920	16.28	1.23	$49,450
13	Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products in Louisiana	2,430	13.51	1.70	$62,800
14	Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive in Louisiana	2,210	12.28	1.12	$38,060
15	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Louisiana	2,200	12.24	0.86	$28,460
16	Customer Service Representatives in Louisiana	2,140	11.94	0.72	$36,820
17	Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks in Louisiana	2,130	11.87	1.34	$38,910
18	Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses in Louisiana	2,100	11.70	2.81	$51,580
18	Maintenance and Repair Workers, General in Louisiana	2,100	11.70	1.19	$40,930
20	Nursing Assistants in Louisiana	1,990	11.06	1.19	$29,960

Most concentrated occupations in Lafayette, LA

The 10 occupations with the highest location quotient among those employing at least 100 people in the area. A quotient of 2.00 means the occupation's share of local jobs is twice its national share.

Rank	Occupation	Location quotient	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Median annual
1	Extraction Workers, All Other	60.67	390	2.16	$53,210
2	Rotary Drill Operators, Oil and Gas	27.56	400	2.23	$49,190
3	Roustabouts, Oil and Gas	17.43	910	5.04	$49,970
4	Riggers	10.56	270	1.53	$36,880
5	Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas	10.05	500	2.79	$47,020
6	Sailors and Marine Oilers	9.20	340	1.87	$49,500
7	Boilermakers	9.14	110	0.60	$70,720
8	Drafters, All Other	7.50	130	0.70	$60,270
9	Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels	6.31	270	1.50	$116,200
10	Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters	6.11	370	2.06	$43,830

Occupation groups in Lafayette, LA

Group	Median annual	Mean annual	Employment	Jobs per 1,000	Location quotient
Management	$96,850	$112,560	10,760	59.94	0.84
Computer and Mathematical	$80,250	$86,800	2,300	12.83	0.38
Architecture and Engineering	$76,540	$83,530	2,340	13.01	0.77
Legal	$74,720	$95,270	1,240	6.93	0.83
Life, Physical, and Social Science	$70,880	$78,440	980	5.44	0.57
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical	$68,150	$82,110	14,350	79.92	1.26
Business and Financial Operations	$63,230	$72,920	6,740	37.51	0.55
Educational Instruction and Library	$51,360	$53,440	8,550	47.60	0.81
Construction and Extraction	$49,000	$53,140	9,730	54.19	1.31
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	$48,510	$54,210	9,740	54.26	1.39
Community and Social Service	$46,970	$48,820	2,250	12.53	0.73
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	$45,500	$60,990	1,490	8.32	0.63
Production	$45,210	$49,340	11,560	64.35	1.17
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	$44,190	$46,000	120	0.69	0.24
Protective Service	$42,280	$44,250	3,290	18.31	0.75
Office and Administrative Support	$38,290	$41,620	22,570	125.71	1.10
Transportation and Material Moving	$36,730	$43,440	17,350	96.60	1.10
Sales and Related	$31,590	$43,210	17,330	96.54	1.12
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	$28,940	$30,920	4,640	25.82	0.88
Healthcare Support	$28,220	$29,460	10,400	57.93	1.14
Personal Care and Service	$26,810	$29,420	3,390	18.89	0.90
Food Preparation and Serving Related	$22,630	$25,590	18,440	102.69	1.17

Every occupation in Louisiana, and the area's place among the state's metros, is on the state profile. All 350 published occupations for this area are in the wage explorer; other metros are on the metros hub.

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Lafayette, LA estimates (area 29180).

*: Wage estimate not available.
**: Employment estimate not available.

Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.
Jobs per 1,000 is the occupation's employment per 1,000 jobs in the Lafayette, LA area; the location quotient is that share divided by the national share.
The concentration table keeps only occupations with employment of 100 or more in the area, so a quotient built on a handful of rounded jobs cannot top it.